Seau had brain disease before suicide

When he ended his life last year by shooting himself in the chest, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease often linked with repeated blows to the head.

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By The Associated Press

recordonline.com

By The Associated Press

Posted Jan. 11, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By The Associated Press

Posted Jan. 11, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Kosar finds help

Bernie Kosar spent more than 10 years in persistent pain, the effects of more than one dozen documented concussions he sustained in 13 years as an NFL quarterback.

There are hits he remember...

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Kosar finds help

Bernie Kosar spent more than 10 years in persistent pain, the effects of more than one dozen documented concussions he sustained in 13 years as an NFL quarterback.

There are hits he remembers. There were others, so many others with the Browns, he shook off with smelling salts tucked into the front of his pants on game day.

The ringing and buzzing in his head never subsided. Kosar couldn't sleep. He slurred his words. His life, troubled by financial woes and a failed marriage, was almost unlivable.

Kosar found Dr. Rick Sponaugle, a "pioneer" in brain therapies who runs a wellness institute in Palm Harbor, Fla. Kosar claims through Sponaugle's "groundbreaking" work that his symptoms have improved and his brain is healing.

Kosar's is spreading the word about his improved condition and his goal is to get help for former teammates and other ex-NFL players dealing with similar problems.

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When he ended his life last year by shooting himself in the chest, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease often linked with repeated blows to the head.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health said Thursday the former NFL star's abnormalities are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The hard-hitting linebacker played for 20 NFL seasons with San Diego, Miami and New England before retiring in 2009. He died at age 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot in May, and his family requested the analysis of his brain.

"We saw changes in his behavior and things that didn't add up with him," his ex-wife, Gina, said. "But (CTE) was not something we considered or even were aware of. But pretty immediately (after the suicide) doctors were trying to get their hands on Junior's brain to examine it."

The NIH, based in Bethesda, Md., studied three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's, and said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."

"It was important to us to get to the bottom of this, the truth," Gina Seau added, "and now that it has been conclusively determined from every expert that he had obviously had CTE, we just hope it is taken more seriously."

In the final years of his life, Seau had wild behavioral swings, according to Gina and to 23-year-old son, Tyler, along with signs of irrationality, forgetfulness, insomnia and depression.

He hid it well in public, they said, but not when he was with family or close friends.

Seau joins a list of several dozen football players who were found to have CTE. Boston University's center for study of the disease reported last month that 34 former pro players and nine who played only college football suffered from CTE.

The NFL faces lawsuits by thousands of former players who say the league withheld information on the harmful effects of concussions. According to an AP review of 175 lawsuits, 3,818 players have sued. At least 26 Hall of Famer members are among the players who have done so.